Aspirations

Chapter 118 Yuan Xuan Chao Bao
Those who knew the inside story revealed that Dr. Zhu tried to poison the emperor to death, but was fortunately discovered by Mr. Jin Jia.The emperor was very merciful, and did not implicate the seven clans, and only granted Zhu Taiyi to death.It is also said that after the failure of the incident, Zhu Taiyi did not want to be tortured and died by taking poison himself.No matter what the reason is, it is a firm fact that Zhu Taiyi tried to poison the emperor to death.

Because of Zhu's matter, everyone in the Taichang Temple and the Imperial Medical Office was in danger.Later, Guan Shu, the minister of Taichang Temple, was dismissed from his position as a civilian, and he was never hired. Liu Xiao, the young minister of Taichang Temple, was promoted to Minister of Taichang Temple.Jin Jia is the Shaoqing of Taichang Temple and the order of the Imperial Medical Office, in charge of more than [-] imperial physicians and apprentices in the Imperial Medical Office.

Later, Sitian Supervisor Wei Qiang played, this year is the 150th anniversary of Emperor Taizong, the sun is shining in October in winter, and the year is in the southwest. When the water is auspicious, the emperor should go to pray for blessings, so that the weather will be smooth and the country will be peaceful and the people will be safe.His Majesty ordered that on October [-]th in winter, he would go south to Zhending County and go to the Great Buddha Temple to pray for the common people.

At this time, there is still one and a half months before winter and October, and the emperor's trip is no small matter. The Ministry of Rites, the Ministry of Officials, and the Ministry of Industry immediately became busy. Take them all into consideration.

After the news of the emperor's southward visit to the Great Buddha Temple, there were rumors in the capital again.Some people said that the emperor was hesitant on the issue of establishing a crown prince, and he wanted to go to the land of Longxing where Emperor Taizong lived to seek advice from the Buddha.Some people said that the emperor went to Zhending, apparently to pray for the people, but in fact, he went to ask the eminent monk of medicine for his own illness.Some people speculate that the emperor has always worshiped Taoism, but he is going to worship Buddha at the Great Buddha Temple. Could it be that the emperor no longer worships Taoism and wants to believe in Buddhism?I'm afraid Ye Muping will fall out of favor.

There were all kinds of theories and suspicions, and there were even rumors that the emperor wanted to escape the siege of the capital in a hurry, and that he must have gone south for refuge.

Those who really know the inside story don't say a word.

Li Dingshan took office as Yushitai Yushi Zhongcheng, and walked from behind the scenes to the front of the stage.Although he was only a small censor Zhongcheng, because of his reputation, every time he went to court, he stood behind Xu Dequan's body, which made Xu Dequan feel great pressure.After Fu Xianfeng was punched by Teng Zhengyuan last time, he wanted to trouble Teng Zhengyuan several times, but Teng Zhengyuan was not afraid at all, and responded strongly to Fu Xianfeng, whether it was a literary competition or a martial fight, even if it was a life-and-death fight, he would accompany him in the end.Teng Zhengyuan also told Fu Xianfeng in front of more than a dozen civil and military ministers that he would criticize Fu Xianfeng's faults everywhere in the future, and would hold on to even the slightest fault.

Although Fu Xianfeng was rough by nature and fearless of heaven and earth, he was still afraid of Teng Zhengyuan.It's also because Teng Zhengyuan doesn't talk about oil and salt, he walks upright and stands upright, and there is nothing anyone can find fault with.And even if he said that people were at fault, he still quoted scriptures, and his words were so clear that it was impossible to refute them.

Since then, Teng Zhengyuan's reputation has been greatly shaken, and the name of the four iron censors has resounded inside and outside the court.

One day after the imperial court, Hou Pingpan went straight to Xingwang's mansion, and it happened that King Yun was also there, and they conspired together.Speaking of the emperor's southern tour.

Previously, Gao Jianyuan was ordered to go to Shile and Zhending Mansions to secretly meet with Pei Shuozhang and Cui Xiang, and asked the two to find ways to prevent Dong Xian's murder case from continuing to dig deeper.Pei Shuozhang broke out in a cold sweat from fright at the time, and immediately responded repeatedly.Cui Xiang was also taken aback. Although he repeatedly obstructed Xia Xiang from continuing to investigate, he did not expect that Dong Xian's murder would alarm His Royal Highness Xingwang, so he quickly agreed.

Although there is only more than a month before the emperor's southern tour, Xingwang sent Gao Jianyuan and Yan Hao to the counties along the way to prevent unforeseen events. Don't leave before, to ensure that after the emperor's southern tour arrives at Zhending, everything will go according to the original plan.

Although Gao Jianyuan's injury has not fully healed, he also knows that the matter is of great importance, so he doesn't say much at the moment, and insists on gritting his teeth.

After everything was properly arranged, King Xing told Hou Pingpan again that he must cut the grass and root out the roots, and not let the family members of Zhu Taiyi reveal the slightest news.Hou Pingpan understood, and said that he had arranged for people to go south to Quanzhou, and go to Zhu Taiyi's home to properly settle Zhu Taiyi's family.

At the same time, in King Jing's mansion, King Jing, King Qing, King Jian and others sat together and talked about the emperor's southern tour.Song Chaodu believed that there must be something wrong with Wei Qiang's proposal of the emperor's southern tour, and the emperor had no choice but to respond.Cao Yongguo thought that the emperor's southern tour might not be a bad thing. If the emperor stopped advocating Taoism and prayed for the blessing of Buddha, he would be in good health, which would be the blessing of the country and the people.

However, Li Dingshan said that the emperor's southern tour to Zhending was a rare opportunity for Xia Xiang, and he wanted to send Xiao Jia to Zhending to assist Xia Xiang.At the same time, he also suggested that King Jing and Ye Shisheng should move around more often. In case of unforeseen events, Ye Shisheng was loyal to the emperor. If something unexpected happened, he might play a key role.

Afterwards, King Jing arranged tasks for everyone in turn.

It was night, even though it was late autumn in Shangjing, the lights were still brightly lit, and the night market was as usual, full of people coming and going, extremely lively.Although Shangjing is located in the north, there are endless night markets throughout the year.

In the night, a carriage quietly entered the capital from the north gate.After the carriage passed the inspection of the city guards, it went straight to the Xingwang Mansion.When they arrived at Xingwang Mansion, two people got off the car, a man and a woman.Under the guidance of the butler, the two came to Xingwang's study.

Not long after, Star King appeared.The man hurriedly saluted Xing Wang, and Xing Wang hurriedly stepped forward to help him up. After exchanging warm and friendly greetings with the visitor, his eyes fell on the woman who was walking with him.

"His Royal Highness Xingwang, this is Zhang Shi'er, the younger sister of the official house." The man observed his words and noticed the strange surprise flashing in Xingwang's eyes, and hurriedly said, "My little sister is not married yet."

The man was none other than Zhang Hou, a Jinshi in the same year who had a roommate with Xia Xiang, and the current magistrate of Rehe County.

Star King smiled knowingly.

After talking for a while, Zhang Hou recommended Li Ziwen, a Jinshi of the same year, to Xingwang.Li Ziwen ranked No.8 in the top three and is now the head of the Ministry of War.Xingwang was very happy, and then introduced Hou Pingpan to Zhang Hou.

After leaving the Xingwang Mansion, Zhang Houzhi was very satisfied, and suddenly felt that the world was infinitely vast.Shi'er was a little unhappy, complaining that Zhang Hou shouldn't have arranged her marriage. She would rather marry Shen Bao than Xing Wang.

Zhang Hou was furious, and told Shi'er to let her go home if she was disobedient.Marrying Xing Wang as a side concubine is a hundred times better than marrying Shen Bao as the main wife.The two talked while walking along the banks of the Anding River. Turning around from Anping Bridge, they accidentally passed an inconspicuous two-story building facing the street.Although the small building is facing the street, it is not a shop. The door is closed tightly, and only a few lights come out from inside, accompanied by the sound of rushing, and there is a faint fragrance of ink.

Zhang Hou and Shi'er didn't pay attention, they stood under the small building and argued with each other for a few words.Shi'er was furious for a while, and scolded Zhang Hou for selling his sister for glory, shameless and lacking in integrity, and turning to the third prince in order to seek glory and wealth.

Zhang Hou was so angry that he slapped Shi'er, but he didn't notice that in front of the window on the second floor of the small building, there was a figure standing for a long time, listening to the conversation between him and Shi'er.

After Zhang Hou and Shi'er left, the window on the second floor was pushed open, and a pretty figure stood by the window, watching Zhang Hou and Shi'er's back disappear into the vast night, with a reserved and happy smile on the corner of his mouth.

It was Xiao Jia.

"Miss Xiao, please have a look at the sample of tomorrow's "Yuanxuan Chaobao"." A woman appeared in front of Xiao Jia, holding a tabloid filled with the fragrance of ink, and handed it to Xiao Jia.

With the newspaper in hand, Xiao Jia read it carefully, picked up a writing brush and crossed out one of the articles, saying: "Take this article down and replace it with an article that can arouse people's discussion."

The woman is An Ziru who Xiao Jia met when he first came to the capital.

An Ziru brushed the hair on her forehead: "If you change it now, how can there be time to write?"

"Mr. Shen Rongchang is here, but it's only half an hour." Xiao Jia smiled sweetly, and shouted downstairs, "Mr. Shen!"

"Here we come, Miss Xiao." A simple and honest voice responded to Xiao Jia. Accompanied by the creaking of the stairs, a dark and thin man went upstairs. His gown was stained with black ink and wrinkled. Baba is out of shape, and his hair is like weeds. At first glance, he looks like a disaster victim fleeing at the foot of the city wall.

However, Shen Rongchang, who was dark and thin, had a pair of piercing big eyes, his brows were pretty, but he was dark and dirty, making him look very down and out.Desperate is really desolate, he was originally from the Guangnan Donglu family, he failed the exam when he went to Beijing, exhausted all his money, and couldn't go back, so he had to live on the streets of the capital, writing letters for others for a living.Later, when I had more contact with the common people, I heard that the common people often talked about government affairs and scandals in private, so I had a whim, why not run a tabloid newspaper under the pretense of being run by the imperial court, which specially published the current affairs news of the imperial court, so as to satisfy the curiosity of the common people. Heart.

Shen Rongchang wanted to do it, so he united with a few failed candidates who were living in the capital like him, pooled together a sum of money, borrowed some, rented a hidden place, collected a lot of anecdotes, legends and All kinds of hearsay and rumors were compiled into documents, printed into newspapers with movable type printing, and signed up for "Yuanxuanchaobao", each copy was ten cents, and sold by vegetable farmers, early morning vendors and various vendors.

Originally, I just had the mentality of giving it a try. Unexpectedly, the "Yuanxuanchaobao" became very popular as soon as it came out. The daily sales ranged from hundreds to thousands of copies, which almost caused Luoyang's expensive paper to loot the situation.Shen Rongchang was overjoyed, and mobilized the wisdom of the common people, bought inside information at a high price, and soon learned more inside information from the major ministers, servants, attendants and even housekeepers.As a result, the sales of "Yuan Xuan Chao Bao" quickly exceeded tens of thousands of copies.

The popularity of "Yuanxuanchaobao" made more people aware of the power and benefits of tabloids. Later, many tabloids were established, such as "Yuanxuan Daily", "Yuanxuan Anecdotes", "Yuanxuanchaowen", etc. Finally, it aroused the wrath of the Shangjing government.The Beijing government issued a notice stating that private tabloids should not be named after the year of Yuan Xuan, nor should they publish the affairs of the imperial court, nor should they publish chapters about admonishing officials from Taiwan, nor should they publish matters that were not reported by the imperial newspaper. The Dibao published after Menxia Province’s official writing—do not fabricate facts and spread news at will.

It's just that the notice from the Beijing government didn't work. The demand for tabloids among the people is far beyond the government's imagination.Even the announcement of Shangjing was ridiculed after it was published in full by several tabloids.Later, Hou Pingpan tried his best to reject all opinions at the court meeting, saying that it was to let the people have a tabloid to talk about, which was harmless and would not shake the foundation of Daxia.The emperors of the Great Xia Dynasty all have the capacity to accommodate people. Even a scholar who writes rebellious poems can reward an official to do it. Why can't they accommodate a few tabloids from the people?
Since then, the government turned a blind eye to the private tabloids and pretended not to see them.

After a period of time, many non-governmental tabloids were eliminated from the market because the content was not enough to attract the people. In the end, only "Yuanxuanchaobao" and "Yuanxuanchaowen" survived.The two tabloids have their own characteristics. "Yuanxuanchaobao" mainly focuses on novel content, while "Yuanxuanchaowen" mainly focuses on ridicule.Whether it is novelty or ridicule, the two tabloids have their own obvious positions when reporting relevant court anecdotes or rumors.

"Yuanxuanchaobao" tended to oppose the new law, and "Yuanxuanchaowen" supported the new law.However, since it is a private tabloid, it is mostly based on anecdotes and rumors, and the officials of the imperial court do not care about the position of the tabloid.Of course, what made Hou Pingpan very satisfied was that "Yuanxuan Chaowen", which supported the new law, came from behind, and its influence gradually surpassed "Yuanxuan Chaobao", and gradually swallowed up many "Yuanxuan Chaobao" markets. It is very difficult for "Yuanxuanchaobao" to drop from tens of thousands of copies at its most glorious time to thousands of copies now.
When "Yuan Xuan Chao Bao" was founded, Shen Rongchang had only three people, and he, Xiang Cheng, and Cheng Daqi were three unsuccessful candidates.Later, after growing, I rented a small two-story building and hired more than a dozen people. There were also non-staff personnel outside to collect intelligence and inquire about news. down.

Jie Maoliang, the founder of "Yuan Xuan Chao Wen", appeared in time and approached Shen Rongchang and proposed to buy "Yuan Xuan Chao Bao" with a thousand pens.Shen Rongchang almost fainted out of breath. No matter how bad the "Yuanxuan Chaobao" is, it is worth more than [-] guan, and he wanted to buy "Yuanxuan Chaobao" for just [-] guan. he!

Shen Rongchang categorically avoided Maoliang's acquisition request, even if Jie Maoliang raised the price to [-] guan.Jie Maoliang was furious, and before leaving, he claimed that within three months, he would make "Yuan Xuan Chao Bao" a complete failure, and then Shen Rongchang would kneel down and beg him to buy it.

Since then, "Yuanxuanchaowen" has spared no effort to slander "Yuanxuanchaobao" in addition to publishing court anecdotes, and secretly snatched away more than a dozen informants from "Yuanxuanchaobao" at any cost.The sales volume of "Yuan Xuan Chao Bao", which lost its exclusive news, fell again and again, falling to less than a thousand copies, and it could not hold on after only two months.

Seeing that the three-month deadline was approaching, Shen Rongchang was worried. He didn't wash his face or change his clothes. He looked like a beggar. When he went out early in the morning, he fell and almost fell into the Anding River.When he got up, there was a beautiful woman in front of him, who called herself Xiao Jia.

Xiao Jia has secretly investigated and learned about Shen Rongchang and "Yuan Xuanchao Bao" for a long time. She originally planned for the good times. Although the tabloid does not make much profit, it can publicize the good times and expand its influence.Unexpectedly, the more I understand "Yuan Xuan Chao Bao", the more I see the business opportunities in it, and there are more values ​​that can be used that can be magnified or even used to influence... the situation!
Xiao Jia was extremely patient and waited for Shen Rongchang to reappear when he was at the end of his life. The price she offered was not high, but she reserved shares and the right to write for Shen Rongchang. She was only responsible for management and direction.Shen Rongchang naturally couldn't ask for it, so he agreed immediately.In addition to Xiao Jia's favorable conditions, Xiao Jia's beauty was also the reason why Shen Rongchang was so excited.When he was desperate, Xiao Jia, who seemed to descend from the sky, was like a mortal fairy, not only bringing him a bright life, but also brightening his eyes, feeling the joy and sunshine of new life.

From then on, Xiao Jia became like a fairy in Shen Rongchang's mind.

After Xiao Jia took over the "Yuan Xuan Chao Bao", he first used his financial resources to recruit some professional informants, and then asked people to hang out among the people who read the newspaper every day, drinking tea and chatting with the people, and knowing what the people like to read. The anecdote about who I want to know the most, etc., and then organize it into an article, hand it over to Shen Rongchang, let Shen Rongchang tell the informant what kind of news and whose rumors he mainly inquires about, and focus on the target, grasp the direction, and really receive miraculous results .

Afterwards, Xiao Jia divided the informants into inner inspectors, provincial inspectors, and government inspectors, who were respectively responsible for inquiring about the news of the imperial palace, Menxia Province, and Shangjing Mansion, whether it was fabricated orders, rumored incidents, court errands, etc. The chapters of Taiwan's admonishment to hundreds of officials are still things that have not been reported in the court newspaper, and things that the official Chen Qi has not implemented. As long as there is a shred of news, it will be put into the newspaper immediately.

Soon, the news of "Yuanxuanchaobao" quickly won back many fans because of its exclusiveness and unique angle.What made "Yuanxuanchaobao" rise again, approaching "Yuanxuanchaowen" in momentum, and what made Jie Maoliang feel threatened and had a big head was "Yuanxuanchaobao"'s exclusive continuous report on Xia Xiang.

As a commoner, Xia Xiang dared to fight against the minister of the Ministry of Rites, Wen Changju, a second-rank senior official, not to mention the public official in white clothes, as a small examiner. Many people in the capital had heard of it, but many Most people only know one and don't know the other.Xiao Jia naturally knows more inside information than outsiders. She dictates and Shen Rongchang writes. A small part is true, and most of it is embellished. It is written in a legendary novel style. Each issue only writes a few hundred words, just like a storyteller. The article is broken at the important point, and will be continued in the next issue.

Xia Xiang's legendary story made "Yuan Xuan Chao Bao" and "Yuan Xuan Chao Bao" also made Xia Xiang famous in the capital!Nowadays, almost everyone in the capital city does not know Xia Xiang's name, and many people are familiar with Xia Xiang's deeds and legendary experience, although speaking, half of the legends about Xia Xiang they know are true, which is not bad.

(End of this chapter)